Improvement in seed-planters



H. L.. DAVIS, & s. & M. PENNOCK.

Gfain-Drill.

Patented Nov. 16, 1852.

NPETERS, PHOTO-LITMOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEVIS H. DAVIS, SAMUEL PENNOGK, AND MORTON PENNOOK, OF KENNETT SQUARE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 9,399, dated November 16, 1852.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Lnvrs H. DAVIS, SAM- UEL PENNOGK, and MORTON PENNOOK, all of Kennett Square, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Planters; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan or top view of the machine, a portion of the hopper being removed and the reciprocating slide shown by red lines. Fig. 2 is a. vertical section taken transversely to the hopper, and showing one of the depositing-tubes as depressed. Fig. 3 is a View showing in plan two of the plates containing sigmoidal-shaped receiving and discharging openings, and the relative position therewith of the reciprocating slide. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line as m of Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the side of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through a portion of the hopper-slide and two of the metal caps beneath the hopper. Fig. 7 is a view showing the relative position of the reciproeating slide and metal cups. Fig. 13 is an edge view of the undulatory disk or camwheel L.

Where the same letters of reference occur on the several figures theyindicate correspondin g parts.

Our invention refers to machines for distributing seed; and the nature of it consists, first, in the employment of sigmoid-shaped or other similarly curved or angular openings to receive and discharge the grain or seed from the hopper, in combination with the reciprocating slide and feeding stubs or projections; secondly, in the employment of stubs or projections, whether fixed in relation to the hopper or reciprocating with the slide, for feeding the seed to the discharge-outlets and for forming a stop or cut-01f to either one of the outlets when required, in combination with said openings, reciprocating slide, and its extensions; thirdly, in constructing the sigmoid-shaped or other similarly curved or angular openings with inclined terminations or points for performing the office of discharging the seed while the feedingstubs are carrying the seed to ward the opposite extremity or outletof the opening during the movement of the slide.

To enable others to make and use our invention, we will proceed fully to describe it.

A is the frame,mounted upon a shaft, B, and supported by two propelling-wheels, G 0, one of which, C, turns loosely on the shaft for the facility of turning the machine.

D is the tongue or draft-pole.

A short distance above the frame A, and in the-rear of the shaft B, is mounted the hopper or seed-trough E, made with the requisite number of compartments.

F is one of the depositing-tubes or drillteeth, of the usual construction, connected by the drag-bar G to the front beam of the frame, and by the cord or chain H to a lifting lever or board, I, pivoted to the side beams of the frame, having pins or in it, over which the said cords or chains H are hooked, said cords or chains passing through staples a projecting from said liftingboard I, whereby the said cords H are prevented from dropping when relieved from the pins or. The lifting-board I is provided with an arm, I), by which, when the board is raised, it is locked to a catch, 0, pivoted to the hopper, whereby all the drill-teeth are elevated simultaneously and held in that position; but should any one of the drill-teeth separately be raised it may be held by hooking the loop (Z in the cord or chain H over the ill a. p To the lower end of the cord or chain H is attached a mortise-link, 0 to fit the rear lug at the top of the depositing-tube F. When the link is pressed upon the lug a wooden pin or key is put through the hole behind it, which holds it permanently to its place and prevents the chain from doubling around the lug or upon itself, which a loose ring is always liable to do, and which is often a serious disadvantage and annoyance to the operator. This arrangement also admits of the chains being taken off and attached to the drill-tube at pleasure without the use of tools. 7

J is the conductinghose through which the seed passes from a rearward-inclined spout, K, leading to a receiving-cup beneath the hopper.

On the shaft B, near the loose wheel 0, is fixed an undulatory disk or cam-wheel, L, the face whereof is composed of double inclines e e, Fig. 13, for the purpose of imparting to a lever, M, having its fulcrum at M and partly embracing said disk, a back-and-forth movement, and through means of a connecting-rod, N, and short arm 0, attached to the slide, (see Fig. 1,) communicate to the latter a reciprocating movement, the said rod N being attached to the lever M by means of clamp-screw Q,the shank whereof passes into and through a gageslot which forms the segmentof acirele scribed from the connection of the rod N with the arm 0. The advantages of the segment-slot in the lever M over the holes or notches ordinarily used are the slot admits of gaging the amount of seed to be sown to any fractional part of a given quantity, which separate holes or notches will not do, especially in sowing small seeds which pack closely and discharge fast. By the use of the slot the farmer can, by a slight variation of the index-point, regulate the quantity of seed to be sown per acre with the nicest accuracy.

The stroke of the slide S may be increased or diminished to sow more or less grain by shifting the point of connection of the rod N with the gage-lever in the slot nearer to or farther from the fulcrum M of the lever, and securing the same by the clamp-screw Q.

P is a jointed rod attached to the frame, and extending beneath the connecting-rod N and hopper, and upward through a staple, f, over which it is made to catch when lifted, as seen in Fig. 2, for the purpose of disconnecting therod N from the arm 0, and thus stop the motion of the slide.

In order to impart to the slide a quicker or slower movement, the undulating disk L is removed, andone withagreater or less number of inclines e is placed in its stead on the shaft B.

R is the ordinary slide for shutting off the seed. It slides between the bottom of the hopper and receiving and discharging opening.

S is the reciprocating slide. It has its bearings upon and moves over metal cups T, secured at their corners by screw-bolts to the bottom of the hopper, and is furnished with stubs or projections U on its upper surface at the required distance apart for feeding the seed through the sigmoidal-shaped or other similarly curved or angular openings. The stubs are made hollow or concave on their sides in the direction of their movement for the purpose of preventing the tendency of the seed to spread laterally while carrying the seed through the central or straight portions of the openings, and thus obviate injury that, were the sides of the stubs straight, the seed would be liable to. These stubs or projections also serve as stops to one extremity or outlet of each opening for the purpose of preventing the scattering or waste of the seed when the slide is out of gear and in transporting the machine from place to place with seed in the hopper, the opposite extremity or outletof the opening being at the same time efi'ectually closed by the extension V, forming the bottom of said outlet, as will be clearly seen by reference to Fig. 3, the seed being retained in the central portion and closed extremity of the opening until motion be again given to the slide.

On either edge of the slide are formed extensions V, the object of which is mainly to close one outlet or extremity of each receiving and discharging opening, while the stubs or projections U perform a like office, as before stated, in transporting the machine, and thus prevent the distribution or scattering of the seed when not required. To effect this the machine must be first thrown outof gear. Then by means of a handle (which may be formed by a rearward extension of the arm 0) the slide is moved endwise as far as it will go, as in Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrow 2. This throws the arm 0 out of reach of the notch in the connecting-rod N, so that were the machine by accident or otherwise thrown into gear there would be no motion imparted to the slide S until the arm 0 is again placed within reach of the notch in the connecting-rod N.

The movement of the slide for ordinary seeding purposes is not designed to be sufficient to cause the extensions to close entirely either one of the outlets of the discharge-openin gs, as that would cause an irregularity in the dis tribution of the seed; but by keeping each outlet of the receiving-opening open, or partially so, the discharge of the seed will be uninterrupted during the movement of the slide. In planting corn, beans, and the like seed the slide should have its full stroke, and the extensions will alternately close the outlets, and thus cut off the discharge from one outlet of each opening during each movement of the slide.

g is the central or straight portion, and h t the extremities or outlets, of the sigmoidalshaped openings for the reception and discharge of the seed from thehopper, the bottoms of said openings being formed by the reciproeating slide. These openings are formed in plates W, placed between the bottom of the hopper E and slide S, and secured by the screw bolts which confine the metal cups T. The pointed or angular terminations y y of either side of the central or straight portion of the discharge-opening perform an important officeduring the operation of the machine. Thus when the slide S has completed its movement in the direction of the arrow 2, and the greater portion of the seed discharged through the outlet 6 by the feeding-stub U, a portion of the seed will still remain upon the slide between the stub U and concave or curved end of the opening, which, during the return movement of the slide, will be drawn against the inclined end of the angular point 3 and thus be forced through the outlet 5, while at the same time the movement of the stub U toward the opposite outlet, it, forces the seed through, thereby keeping up a constant discharge through each outlet during each vibration of the slide, instead of alternate and distinct discharges heretofore produced in seed-distributing apparatus having vibratory movements. During the passage of the stubs U in one direction, as in Fig. 3, the seedin thehopper descends through the usual opcnings,j, in the bottom of the hopper into thecent ral portion 9 of the dischargeopening, so that the slide in movingin the opposite direction, as indicated by arrow 3, causes the stubs U to carry the seed toward the opposite end, h, of the opening. Thus it will be seen that the central or straight portions 9 of the discharge-openings have a continuous supply of the seed from the hopper, and that the stubs or projections U, traversing the same with the movement of the slide, effect the dis charge of the seed, as also the angular points y, as specified. The depth of the receiving and discharging openings is governed by the thickness of the plate W, (less the thickness of the caps l 1, Figs. 8 and 9;) but to insure the distribution of a given quantity of seed by a given movement of the slide the openings must be made of the same exact depth or dimensions, and to prevent the wearing of the outlets by the passage of the seed we use metal caps or coverings l l to the extremities of the openings, (instead of forming the covering thereto by the bottom of the hopper, asin Figs. 1 and 6,) as seen in Figs. 8 and 9, which represent a plan and inverted view ofa plate, W and in the upper surface of this plate W I also form a recess to receive the ordinary cut-ofi' slide, m. The extensions V on the slide fit within the metal cups T, and when either extremity of the discharge-opening is opened allows the seed to descend into the metalcups T, as at k, Fig. 7.

Figs. 10, 11, and 12 represent a modification ot our improvement, Fig. 10 being a plan of a portion of the bottom of the hopper; Fig. 11, an inverted view ofa portion of the slide which forms the bottom of the hopper; and Fig. 12 is a plan of one of the plates over and upon which the slide, Fig. 11, moves. This modification consists in forming the receiving and discharging openings in the reciprocatingslide S and forming the feeding stubs or projections U on separate plates 02, secured to the hopper beneath the slide. The slide in this case forms the bottom of the hopper, and only the central or straight portion 9 of the discharge-openings communicates with said hopper, while the extremities thereof are formed in the lower surface of the slide 8, (see Fig. 11,) and the bottoms of said extremities formed alternately by the plate 92, over and upon which the slide moves. In the plate a, on either side of the stubs or projections U are formed dischargeoutlets 1' s, which, during the movement of the slide, are alternately coincident with either ext-remity of the sigmoidal-shaped opening for the passage of the seed. To illustrate this it will be seen that when the slide has been moved in the direction of the arrow 4., Fig. 10, the one extremity of the sigmoidal-shaped opening will be coincident with the discharge-outlet 1', while the opposite extremity will be partially closed by the plate a, over which the slide moves, thus effecting, through means of the stubs U and angular points i 2' a continuous discharge of the seed in the same manner as produced in Fig. 3.

In sheet No. 2 of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 14 represents a transverse section of the hopper-plate containing the receiving and discharging opening, reciprocating slide S and metallic cup, and showing a modification of our improvement, which consists in making the upper surface of the slide S concave, and the under side of the plates containing the sigmoidal-shaped, or other curved or angular openings or bottom of the hopper, convex, to fit the concavity of the slide. The object in making the slide concave is to adapt it more perfectly to distributing small seed over rough and hilly ground, the raised edges of the slide serving to prevent the discharge ot'the seed, by its own specific gravity, too freely.

Fig. 15 represents a plan of aplate contain ing a modified form of discharge-opening resembling the letter C, and is better adapted to distributing seed over prairie-laud.

Fig. 16 represents an inverted plan of a section ofthe bottom ofthehopper, showinga modified form of the discharge-openings, resembling the letter Z. In this caseitis designed to make the bottom of the hopper of cast metal, and the receiving and discharging openings are formed therein. These Z-shapedopenings, however, may be formed in the slide or intermediate plates. The extremities or outlets of these openings are not curved nor furnished with the angular points y, Fig. 3. Consequently a portion of the seed will be carried upon the slide during its movement, so that the discharge is efi'ected by the feedingstubs alone.

It is obvious that the receiving and discharging openings may be made in the bottom of the hopper, reciprocating slide, or intermediate plate, as in Fig. 3, and that there are as many discharge-openings as there are depositing-tubes.

The operation of the feeding-stubs U and angular points 3 of the discharge-openings is the same in all the modifications of our improvemeuts, irrespective of the form of said openings, except Fig. 16, in which case the angular points are omitted.

Having thus described our improvements in seeding-machines, what we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The employment of the sigmoid or other similarly curved or angular receiving and dis charging openings 9 h t, in combination with the reciprocating slide S and feeding-stubs U, In testimony whereof we have hereunto for the purposes specified, the said reeiprooatsigned our names before two subscribing witing slide S having angular points y projecting nesses.

into the aforesaid sigmoid openings for effeetin g the discharge of the seed from the outlets from L'EVIS I-I. DAVIS.

which the stubs U are receding, while the lat- SAMUEL PENNOCK. ter are feeding the seed toward the opposite I MORTON PENNOCK.

extremities or outlets of the openings, during I each movement of the slide S, by means of the Witnesses:

inclined sides of said points 3 and the move- JAMES MILES, ment of the slide. LYDIA G. JACOBS. 

